Specialty Area: Surgery
Description of Specialty: Surgery is a branch of medicine that treats diseases wholly
or in part by manual or operative procedures.
1. Diagnosis: General questions to ask a surgeon regardless of the type of
surgery Questions That Should Be Asked:
- Are you Board certified or eligible?
- What hospitals do you utilize and are they university affiliated?
- What are the alternatives to this surgery?
- What are the common complications of this operation?
- What is the usual time in the hospital for the operation?
- What is the usual time to return to work or active life?
- How much pain should I expect?
- When can I take a bath/shower or get my incision wet?
- When can I drive a car?
- What are the benefits of having the surgery and what will happen if I don't have it?
- How much will the surgery cost?
- Will you personally do the surgery?
2. Diagnosis: Hernia Repair
Questions That Should Be Asked:
- Is an open operation or limited access (laproscopic) operation better for me?
- What are the chances of a recurrence of the hernia?
- Will you use mesh for the repair and why?
- What are the restrictions on my activities after the operation and how much weight can I
lift?
- When can I bathe or get wet?
- What will I be able to go outside, have sexual relations, drive a car or resume normal
daily activity?
3. Diagnosis: Appendectomy
Questions That Should Be Asked:
- How certain is the diagnosis?
- Will you use laproscopic surgery or an open operation?
- Will I need antibiotics after surgery and, if so, what type and for how long?
- When after surgery should I expect to have my first bowel movement and will it be
painful?
- What should I take for a laxative?
- Will I need a special diet after surgery?
4. Diagnosis: Cholecystectomy
Questions That Should Be Asked:
- Will you use laproscopic surgery or an open operation and what are the advantages of
each?
- How can I get along without my gall bladder?
- How long will I be in the hospital?
- Can gallstones reform and where?
- When can I return to work and normal daily routines?
5. Diagnosis: Bowel Resection
Questions That Should Be Asked:
- Will I need an ostomy and, if so, when will it be closed?
- Who will teach me to care for the ostomy and will it be difficult?
- Will I need a special post-operative diet?
- If my operation is for cancer, will I need x-ray therapy or chemotherapy after surgery?
- What are the chances of the spread of the tumor or of recurrence?
- If my operation is for inflammation, what will I need to do to decrease the chances of
recurrence and can this disease occur in another location later
? 6. Diagnosis: Mastectomy
Questions That Should Be Asked:
- How much breast tissue will have to be removed?
- Am I a candidate for breast conservation and if not, why not?
- Do you have to remove the lymph nodes from my armpit?
- Should I have breast reconstruction surgery and, if so, when?
- Will I need x-ray therapy?
- Will I need chemotherapy?
- Will my daughter(s) be at risk for breast cancer?
- Will my sons?
- What type of follow-up will be necessary and how frequently?
7. Diagnosis: Thyroidectomy-Parathyroidectomy
Questions That Should Be Asked:
- What are the complications of para or thyroidectomy and will I be able to talk after
surgery?
- How much tissue will be removed?
- Can the thyroid grow back?
- Do I have to take any medications after surgery and for how long?
- For parathyroidectomy, can the abnormal gland(s) always be found;
- what are the chances of needing another operation;
- how often do I need a follow-up; and will I have to take any medications after surgery?
8. Diagnosis: Vascular Bypass
Questions That Should Be Asked:
- What will be used to bypass the blocked artery, how long will it stay in place and can
it break or rupture?
- What are the chances of the graft staying open and functioning and for how long?
- What are the chances that the graft will clot off and what will happen if the graft
occludes?
- What can I do to help the graft stay open?
- Is there a special diet I should have and can I smoke?
- Do I need to be followed up after surgery?
9. Diagnosis: Vascular Aneurysm
Questions That Should Be Asked:
- What is used to take the place of the artery that is removed and how long will the graft
last?
- What precautions do I have to take to protect the graft?
- Do I need a special diet after surgery and can I smoke?
- Can I get another aneurysm someplace else and where might those places be?
- How often will follow-up be required?
William V. Shieber, M.D. Clinical Associate Professor Department of Surgery Washington
University Medical School St. Louis, MO